Category: Kaiser Health News

Lifesaving Drugs and Police Projects Mark First Use of Opioid Settlement Cash in California

California is in line for more than $4 billion in opioid settlement funds, and local governments are most often spending the first tranche of money on lifesaving drugs. An exclusive KFF Health News analysis also found projects to help police deter youths’ drug use and counsel officers who witness overdoses.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: GOP Platform Muddies Abortion Waters

As Donald Trump prepares to be formally nominated as the GOP’s candidate for president next week, the platform he will run on is taking shape. And in line with Trump’s approach, it aims to simultaneously satisfy hard-core abortion opponents and reassure more moderate swing voters. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on pharmacy benefits management firms. Shefali Luthra of The 19th News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, about the Biden administration’s policies to ensure access to reproductive health care.

‘A Bottomless Pit’: How Out-of-Pocket TMJ Costs Drive Patients Into Debt

Millions of Americans suffer from temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders. The high cost and poor insurance coverage of TMJ care can bury patients in debt even as the treatments do more harm than good.

Finland Is Offering Farmworkers Bird Flu Shots. Some Experts Say the US Should, Too.

Even with a stockpile of bird flu vaccinations, the federal government is not offering them to those at high risk. Along with testing and measures to prevent spread, vaccinations may protect people and stop the outbreak from becoming a pandemic.

Colorado Dropped Medicaid Enrollees as Red States Have, Alarming Advocates for the Poor

Colorado defended its high disenrollment rates following the covid crisis by saying that what goes up must come down. Advocates and researchers disagree.

These Vibrant, Bigger-Than-Life Portraits Turn Gun Death Statistics Into Indelible Stories

With pop-up art shows in Philadelphia and beyond, Zarinah Lomax’s mission is to show what is routinely lost to gun violence in America: “This is somebody’s child. Somebody’s son, somebody’s daughter who was working toward something.”

Why the Election May Slow Plans to Replace Lead Pipes

Lead in drinking water is a known danger. But how many of the country’s estimated 9 million lead service lines need to be replaced — and how quickly — is subject to debate. The clock is ticking on two competing plans as the election looms.

GOP’s Tim Sheehy Revives Discredited Abortion Claims in Pivotal Senate Race

In Montana’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Tim Sheehy made the false claim that his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, supports abortion “up to and including the moment of birth.”

If Lawsuit Ends Federal Mandates on Birth Control Coverage, States Will Have the Say

An ongoing lawsuit aims to set aside the Affordable Care Act’s requirements that insurers cover preventive care, such as contraception. If that happens, state reproductive health laws — varying across the country — would carry more weight, resuming the “wild West” dynamic from before Obamacare.

From Dr. Oz to Heart Valves: A Tiny Device Charted a Contentious Path Through the FDA

The story of MitraClip, a device Dr. Oz helped invent to treat faulty heart valves, is a cautionary tale about the science, business, and regulation of medical technology.